The Louisville Zoo is nominated for one of the nation’s top zoos as part of a USA Today contest and needs your help to crack the top 10.

The Zoo is among 20 nominees for “Best U.S. Zoo” in the newspaper’s 10Best Readers' Choice awards, which includes zoos in Columbus, Cincinnati, San Diego, Denver, Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Orlando, St. Louis and Houston, according to a news release. The zoos will be ranked based on the votes they receive.

USA Today reviewed data supplied by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to select the 20 nominees. The criteria used to make the selections included annual attendance, total acreage, admission fees, contributions to conservation efforts, number of supporting members and recent awards won.

Reporter Patrick T. Sullivan can be reached at (502) 582-4335 or on Twitter @CJ_PSullivan.